LETTER: Tennessee should expand Medicaid

I am a native Tennessean from Murfreesboro and a proud graduate of MTSU. Recently I have started my own photography business, and, unfortunately, I do not make enough in a year to qualify for Medicaid.

After I turned 26, my health insurance company dropped me off my parent's plan, and I was forced to get some coverage on my own. The plan they sold me appeared to be a good deal, but every time I needed to go to a doctor or pay for a prescription, I was paying at least 90 percent of the bill up front.

My health insurance company paid for less than 5 percent EVERY SINGLE TIME. I finally dropped them and recently have felt the need to get covered because besides not getting any younger, the threat of accidentally injuries is very real in a modern world.

I have had friends involved in life-changing auto accidents and friends who have been stricken by and illness and life threatening ailments.

My friend Isaac comes to mind. He was afflicted with appendicitis and had to have an operation. It was a success, but if he did not have health insurance, he would have become another victim of medical bankruptcy

Most of these individuals are children and veterans, many of them our neighbors from the National Guard who don't qualify for full V.A. benefits.

It also makes financial sense. About 15 percent of the Tennessee economy is dependent upon the health-care sector. Without Medicaid expansion, dozens of hospitals are in danger of closing. It's time for Bill Haslam to do the right thing

Matt Ferry

Belle Oaks Drive

Murfreesboro

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LETTER: Tennessee should expand Medicaid

I am a native Tennessean from Murfreesboro and a proud graduate of MTSU. Recently I have started my own photography business, and, unfortunately, I do not make enough in a year to qualify for